EP Choice.. Yes another thread :(

[DrNeb]

Well...

I have had my scope for a few months now (250px) and have decided i want a new eye piece to offer a better quality higher magnified view for planitary work. especially with saturn looming!

So the choices i have so far:

William Optics SPL eyepiece - 6mm -£69.00

Baader Genuine Orthoscopic - 6mm - £73.50

Baader Hyperion 68 degree eyepiece - 5mm -£93.96

I've heard the TMB's are supposed to be good, but i like the service that i get from FLO and am quite keen to keep my business with them. However i could be pushed to a different website if the eye piece is more suitable i suppose.

I like the look of the williams optics EP. plus the price is good.

Would i get more out of a Baader hyperion? would the mag be too high with a 5mm?

any help from the astro gods would be much appreciated.

[Rossco72]

The SPL's are pretty good, I used to have them all before going over to the TeleVue's.

But if you can stand the limited eye relief then for planetary the Orthos are even higher regarded.

[DrNeb]

Thank you Stuart. Televues are a little out of the budget at the moment. >.<

any pro's for the hyperion for high power?

im guessing any of these eye pieces would be a jump up from the stock ones that came with the skywatcher dob.

[johninderby]

If you could stretch to a bt more (£135.00) the Skywatcher Nirvana UWA 82-degree eyepieces are very nearly as good as the Televue Naglers. They do a 4mm and 7mm at the higher power end.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=skywatcher_nirvana_uwa

John

[DrNeb]

how much different would a 7 be compared to a 10? in magnification terms?

Cheers for adding that one to the table John! wish i had pennies for a low power version lol.

[swamp thing]

Hi

7mm would give 171x as opposed to 10mm at 120x

Regards Steve

[russ]

The 5mm is going to be a bit high powered for most nights, so better to aim for something that will be useful more often. The 6mm gives a nice 200x in the 250PX, just about perfect most nights. I also had no luck with my short focal length Hyperions, was unhappy with both the 5mm and 8mm. Changed them for two Burgess TMB Planetary's. But others have been very happy, so i put that down to jumping on the Hyperion bandwagon far too early (the first batch that entered the UK).

The SPL 6mm is very nice. Had the chance to use a few and they didn't disappoint.

Ortho 6mm is a real marmite eyepiece. Some will love it, others loathe it with a real passion. Field of view small and eye relief very tight. For me personally this is the point where i can no longer tolerate the Ortho design. I find 7mm is the shortest focal length i can use comfortably and even that is marginal (i have to be in the right mood).

[swamp thing]

I wouldn't go for the Hyperion 5mm their Genuine Ortho is a better planetary eyepiece. According to the Sky at night Mag.

The Meade 5.5mm series 5000 plossl did well too if i remember correctly and at £64.33 (telescope house) might be worth a look.

Regards Steve

[DrNeb]

Food for thought indeed! thank you muchly for the comments. the SPL is looking like a good move i think. and big thank you regarding the ortho info!

Any reason why i should look toward the televue plossls over anything i've mentioned here? they seem to be in the same price bracket as the hyperions

[DeejayP999]

The Televue Plossls are very good Plossls but, at the end of the day, they are just Plossls. I owned most of them at one point, and then sold them on when I found that my much cheaper GSO Plossls were pretty much as good.

Plus, the Televues only go down to an 8mm - and I thought you wanted 5/6mm?

Tbh, I don't see any Plossl being in any way comparable to the other EPs you're considering.

[SimonR]

I'm not sure what it is about the 'genuine orthos', they have the wide rubber tops that I find hard to use at short focal length. Equally genuine are the classic 'volcano top' orthos that have been made in Japan for about 40 years. They are marketed under various brand names but appear to be made in the same factory, they have the 'Circle T' mark on them. I bought mine direct from Kokusai Kohki in Japan but you can get them in the UK from Lyra Optics and in the US from University Optics.

I have a set of them 7mm, 9mm and 12.5mm, I also have a couple of Circle T Erfles in 16mm and 25mm. The 7mm ortho is very usable, I'm not sure that it would be if it wasn't a 'volcano top'.

Links:

-> Lyra Optic - Eyepieces

-> Eyepieces - 1 1/4" Oculars from University Optics

-> Kokusai Kohki

[John]

... Equally genuine are the classic 'volcano top' orthos that have been made in Japan for about 40 years. They are marketed under various brand names but appear to be made in the same factory, they have the 'Circle T' mark on them. I bought mine direct from Kokusai Kohki in Japan but you can get them in the UK from Lyra Optics and in the US from University Optics.....

I find these more comfortable than the "flat top" orthos as well - must be the shape of my face !.

I recently picked up the 4, 5, 6 and 7mm UO orthos which I'm enjoying a lot

[johnkirkpatrick]

TeleVue Plossls are in you price range and are as good as it gets in that price bracket

[dweller25]

See here .......

http://stargazerslounge.com/sale/131292-nagler-t6-7mm-celestron-skyscout.html

[DrNeb]

See here .......

http://stargazerslounge.com/sale/131292-nagler-t6-7mm-celestron-skyscout.html

dang that is tempting! however i was looking for that magic 6mm giving me 200x....

argh!

I think however i am going to settle for the 6mm william optics. im saving for a holiday at the moment too so i shouldn't really blow the holiday budget.

i will be looking into those volcano top ortho's as they do look quite appealing i must say!

i want to end up with a 6, 10, 17 and 33! so i might have to save for a nagler at one point.

lookin at getting another william optics swan for the 33!

cheers all. most helpful as usual!

[DrNeb]

Ah Sorry to bump this...

but would a 33mm Wide angle EP be low enough power to fit the pleiades in view? or go for a 40?

I'll stick a sock in it after this one - promise!

[russ]

Yes, the 33mm would be plenty. M45 is reckoned to spread over 2deg of the sky, that includes fainter stars that are part of the cluster. The main 'seven sisters' are less than that. The 33mm SWAN will give a true field of view of 2.05deg with the 250PX.

But remember, the outer 20-30% of the field will show signs of astigmitism. Depends how tolerent you are of this. Personally i would try for the Skywatcher Aero ED 35mm, better corrected for an F4.8 scope.

[DrNeb]

I'm not that tolerant of the astigmatism to be honest... unless it is dramatically less than the view im getting in my current stock 25mm eye piece. it does rather annoy me i must say!

68 degrees vs 72? much difference? would the skywatcher Aero be less enjoyable?

thank you russ!

[DrNeb]

ok ignore the last question. but! i must ask

30 vs 35mm? would 35mm be too low a power being only 34x?

[LMC]

Of your original 3 - I'd go for the SPL. The TMB type II's are also very good - very easy to use, nice detail and cheap! However they do show a bit of scatter.

Personally, I didn't like the WO SWAN's - just found them...blah! Ditto Baaders

A good and inexpensive choice for low power 2" EPs are the APM 26mm & 30mm SWA. They are also sold by University Optics, Agena Astro, and a few others under their own brands and run about 50 pounds each.

[DrNeb]

Cheers LMC.

Im buying the SPL today. i do like the look of the Skywatcher Aeros. read a great review by John Huntley from here last night which was very informative.

just need to decide on 30mm or 35mm.

[russ]

Cheers LMC.

Im buying the SPL today. i do like the look of the Skywatcher Aeros. ready a great review by John Huntley from here last night which was very informative.

just need to decide on 30mm or 35mm.

I'm sure you will be told the 35mm is too long a focal length for your scope, producing an exit pupil of 7.5mm. Which means a percentage of the light will not enter the eye, so wasted.

The 30mm produces an exit pupil of 6.4mm, which itself is too large for someone 40yrs plus.

All i can say is my Meade 5K 34mm SWA (roughly the same specs as the Aero) worked like a charm. There was the thought in the back of my mind that i was wasting light but there was no ill effect at the eyepiece. The field was huge and bright.

[John]

....Im buying the SPL today. i do like the look of the Skywatcher Aeros. ready a great review by John Huntley from here last night which was very informative....

I'm glad it was useful

I've also used the Aero ED 40mm recently as well and that was just as good. The 35mm might be a good compromise for you.

I believe the optics in these are the same as the TMB Paragons which are out of production now but were well thought of by those that used them.

As well as having good optical performance the Aero ED's are nice and light for 2" eyepieces so don't impact scope balance as much as others can

[DrNeb]

SPL 6mm is on the way and i'll be adding either the 30mm or 35mm to my collection next month.

Cheers everyone! and keep up the great work John.